The present invention generally relates to a computer system and methods for efficiently executing computer programs.
A set-top box is a device that enables a television set to become a user interface capable of receiving and decoding digital television broadcasts via phone, cable, the Internet, or other means of communication. Set-top boxes are sometimes called receivers. As set-top box technology matures and new features are added, the size of the execution image of the computer program grows and consequently the demand for memory also grows. The modern set-top box requires memory in order to store computer programs and other information related to the applications implemented by the set-top box. As the size of the execution image grows, the programming time takes longer, including the physical programming time for the non-volatile memory and delivery time for the execution image through broadband networks in the case when the set-top box allows remote programming of the execution image. In view of the foregoing growth in required memory size, it would be desirable to provide one or more techniques which provide for memory storage in set-top boxes capable of handling the growing size of execution images which are cost-effective and efficient.